


Un-Spooky

by basketcasewrites



Series: Fictober 2018 [20]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, Multi, Party, Steven Universe mention (no spoilers- just costume talk), unashamedly fat Ned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 14:03:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16476944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/basketcasewrites/pseuds/basketcasewrites
Summary: The little ghosts MJ had cut out and coloured, then made Ned and Peter run through with barely visible wire, hang parallel to store-bought mini pumpkins.As strangely intimate as it is fun; spooky in a Nightmare Before Christmas-esque way✴️Or: There really is nothing better than spending Halloween with your girlfriend, your boyfriend and your boyfriend's aunt(prompt 31 of myfictober prompts list: "Get Spooky, Losers!")





	Un-Spooky

Pink curls, large and almost cartoonish in their spirals, sit at his shoulders.

The wig itches. Much more than Ned remembers from those short moments when he had tried it on over the weekend. Frames his face and scratches at the exposed skin of his neck and cheeks.

He has spent weeks working on the outfit— researching and re-watching every episode of Steven Universe, studying Rose so that the design would be just perfect.

Ned holds his head high as he walks from the parked cab, up the short flight of stairs to Peter and, his aunt, May's apartment.  
Enjoys the feel of the light material swishing at his ankles, moving in time with him and the wind.

The dress does not cinch in at the waist as Roses does, or frame a set of breasts.

Ned does not cut quite a magnificent figure as she does, is certainly not as tall. But he wears it with confidence, as he wears everything, and doesn't dare deny how amazing he looks.

 _Peter and MJ are gonna be speechless,_ Ned absently thinks, the rap of his knock sounding out in the passage.

The building is outdone for Halloween, children waiting behind doors to excitedly pounce on expecting candy-givers means it is eerily quiet in these hours between afternoon and evening.

A door throws open, the sudden flash of a camera is his welcoming. Blinding Ned as he walks through the front door.

"Happy Halloween!" May cheers, her speech slightly garbled by the surgeon's mask she wears, blood-spattered and sitting low on her face. "I'm really lucky to have almost an entire set of gems with me tonight," she takes Ned in and continues happily, "Just in case that big one attacks— What's her name?"

From somewhere behind May, the sound of Peter's tired groan is followed by a quick slap to the curve of a forehead.

Ned blinks away the light still flashing in front of his eyes. " _No way,_ Miss Parker," Ned says, awed at May's own costume, "You look _awesome_ _._ You wouldn't even need us."

"You see," she exclaims pointedly, turning to cast a just as steady glare at Peter and MJ lounging lazily on the sofa. She steps aside to usher Ned in. "Come in, Ned. At least one of you kids appreciate my effort."

Peter hangs limply over the back of the couch, his straightened hair springing back into loose curls and hanging over his face. "Those are just your old scrubs you threw some paint on. You didn't even try, like, at all," Peter says, on the tail of a drawn out sigh.

" _Hey._ I know I'm the Queen of Craft, but it wasn't as easy as it looks to make such a perfect mess." She jokes and tugs at the hem of the scrub shirt. "Becoming Doctor Death was a difficult road, but it was one I was willing to travel."

"Doctor Death?" Ned repeats, excitement in his voice.

Peter meets Ned's gaze and narrows his eyes, pulls his mouth into a small frown. Shakes his head in mock disapproval.

"I think you look good, Miss Parker," MJ pipes up around a mouthful of popcorn. " _Mucho_ terrifying."

"Thank you, second favourite child, after Ned."

Dimmed lights meet soft candlelight. More candles are gathered together on the mantle over the fireplace, find home on some of the side tables.

The little ghosts MJ had cut out and coloured, then made Ned and Peter run through with barely visible wire, hang parallel to store-bought mini pumpkins.

As strangely intimate as it is fun; spooky in a Nightmare Before Christmas-esque way.

MJ lies curled in a corner of the couch. Her whistle as Ned makes his way to sit with them is loud enough to warrant a sharp chastise from May.

"Looking good, Leeds." MJ pauses from picking through the popcorn to lift her legs to rest on the couch's back. Though her heavy stare is one Ned is used to, it still colours him in a light blush.

Her left leg, clad in white tights and ending in a pair of pale shoes that MJ is careful of not scraping against the dress, drops to lay across Ned's lap.

They had only spoken about their costumes before now.  
Had decided— at three in the morning when they should have either been studying or sleeping instead of FaceTiming while barely awake— not to allow each so much as a peek.

"Really," Peter says, the Lapis to Ned's Rose and MJ's Pearl. Blue and white makeup accentuates the gaunt of his cheekbones, fresh stitches along his collarbone and neck make him the most dressed for Halloween out of the three of them. "We're such stunners."

✴️

Sam and Bucky are the first to arrive.

"Steve's running late," Sam explains just as Steve barrels through the open door, completes their trio.

"I'm only late because you two _cheated_ ," Steve cuts. "You knew a shortcut— I didn't lose. Don't expect me to actually pay for dinner."

A brown bear, a rabbit, a panda; party hats strapped to costume heads and streamers hanging from their fur, the three place their presents in a corner and instantly take to setting up for the party.

Eddie Brock files in next. Nervous and new to town, he recently helped Peter with a journalism assignment. His presence at scattered lunches turned into an accepted dinner invitation, turned into him being an almost permanent fixture in their lives.

Him, and Venom, who now curls around Eddie's midriff and smiles widely at seeing their small group of friends.

"Hey—" MJ loudly calls. "You're not wearing a costume."

"I'm an undercover cop," Eddie stumbles, raises a glass and explains with a shrug.

 _ **We're**_ **an undercover cop.** Venom corrects with a hiss.

Wanda and Natasha, dripping with costume diamonds and fake blood, slip in together.  
A pair of queens marrying to secure their kingdom's wealth, so they say.

The apartment fills up much too quickly after they arrive for Ned to keep track of everyone.

Ned spots Clint and Laura as haggard werewolves, their children dressed as cubs and recklessly streaking between legs. They hover by the punch bowl, in light conversation with MJ's mother, in a costume as hastily put together as May's own.

"Woops," Betty Brant shrieks, glasses knocking together from the force at which she stops herself from skidding into Ned. "Almost walked into you there, Miss Quartz."

"Are you okay?" Ned asks. "Wait—" He glances over the hair pulled back under a shaggy brown wig, the loose-fitting brown suit and red tie. "Are you Mr Bean?"

"Yeah. Rad, right? You sure your boyfriend and girlfriend over there won't mind me talking to you?"

He looks to where Betty nods, to a near corner where Peter and MJ stand. Halting from passing out skull-adorned cupcakes, they watch, encouraging smiles twisting their faces into matching images of strange curiosity.

Ned barks a shy laugh. "They're cool. Not _cool,_ they're actually huge dorks. But, you know, we're... Cool."

"Oh—" Betty begins.

"One, two, three." May's voice over the loudspeaker is a startling interruption. "Is this thing working?"

A gentle round of laughter makes its way through the crowd squeezed comfortably in the room.

"I've been called the Empress of unnecessarily long speeches," May starts, cuts a quick look at Peter before bringing her attention back to the gathering, "So... To keep it short— Thank you all for being here tonight. Have fun and eat a bunch, 'cause I didn't spend fifteen minutes ordering all this food for nothing. Get spooky... Uh... Losers. Sorry, folks, I was dared to add that last part."

Betty chuckles lightly. Shakes her head. "I've gotta refill." She gestures to the glasses. "I'll see you around, Ned. Happy Halloween."

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to see how I procrastinate, shoot me some asks or just hang out, you can find me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/shuriidyke)


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